My thoughts: A new report by Allot indicates that video streaming continued to show significant growth with an 88 percent increase, and remains the single largest application taking up bandwidth, accounting for 42 percent of mobile bandwidth.

Are we heading for a Titanic-like disaster with respect to global broadband? This landscape continues to evolve at a frenetic pace.

New group formed to promote uptake of MPEG-DASH standardConnected TVWhen bandwidth returns to normal, the client automatically switches back to the higher bit-rate stream. Adaptive bit-rate is regarded as a key technology required to deliver a good q …

My thoughts: The DASH Promoters Group (DASH-PG) has been created following the ratification of the MPEG-DASH standard in November 2011. The idea behind the standard is to define a universal delivery format for Internet, based on the ‘best elements’ of proprietary streaming technologies such as Adobe Dynamic Streaming for Flash, Apple HTTP Adaptive Streaming and Microsoft Smooth Streaming.

Is this just another Betamax/VHS/BlueRay/HD DVD war? The fragmentation of codec standards (and different groups lobbying for their superiority) doesn’t help anyone.

The joint venture deal, for which Big Red will own 65%, brings Verizon a wealth of new-release movie options to integrate into a streaming service, which will be a big h …

My thoughts: The offering will be “new single-source, national multi-platform” service to be launched in the second half of the year, which will target “quality- and value-conscious consumers seeking a simple and affordable way to access the video entertainment they crave.” To that end, the service will offer “subscription services and more,” suggesting the possibility of a per-use pricing option.

This portends to be a very competitive offering in the market, enabling Verizon to reach millions of its subs with this offering. So long as RedBox can bring the content (with appropriate licensing), this could easily outpace Netflix and Amazon Unbox. But this is only the first. Comcast has announced their offering and others will follow suit.

According to what Netflix sources has informed Bloomberg newspaper, the OTT is planning to widen its catalog with new original series with the purpose of competing strongly with other video streaming providers. To such …

My thoughts: Interesting to see Netflix branching into original content. Subscribers have long complained about a thin catalog of compelling content. Will this provide enough value to create additional stickiness with users and potentially woo back subs that fled?

As part of their strategy to accelerate DASH adoption, the Promoters Group will be demonstrating DASH streaming video at Mobile World Congress 2012. The demo will showcase technology from several Promoters Group …

My thoughts: What’s the real benefit here of MPEG DASH? Or was it really just a response to Apple dictating the HTTP streaming market with HLS? There should be clear value in order to back adoption of a new standard. Is there enough of that value in MPEG DASH to warrant all the energy and buzz around it?

Strong sales of the Roku streaming player and Apple TV in the fourth quarter contributed to 13% penetration among broadband households for Internet-connected video media players in 2011, according to a new report. … “In the 2011 holiday season, 4% of households bought one of these inexpensive, single-function devices, which enable households to view over-the-top (OTT) video from Internet-based services such as Amazon Prime Instant Video and Netflix,” …

My thoughts: Drawing on a recent post about TV Time, it’s clear that consumer behavior is changing with regards to how they want to watch video. Linear broadcast is no longer the single source as alternative sources (like Web and mobile) become viable alternatives.

Streampix is also emerging as Comcast starts to see competitive service providers develop and launch more extensive over-the-top video options. Among recent moves, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) has teamed …

My thoughts: Comcast is really the first. Their Streampix offering (part of the Xfinity brand) is one element of a multi-tiered service that combines linear, VOD, and time-shifted content through a variety of channels including TV, PC, and mobile. Comcast is leading the charge of what will become a trend amongst MSOs: providing more content flexibility for subscribers. This may be the only way to keep people from “cutting the cord.”

My thoughts: TWC (Time Warner Cable) is also pushing hard on the OTT envelope. But instead of focusing on VOD, they are bringing the linear TV experience to the OTT world. It’s unclear if this is what consumers want rather than being able to watch on-demand assets. I would hypothesize that it will be a combination of content types (linear and VOD through n-screen access methods) that will create an “all-you-can-eat, any way you want it” content experience.

For long-form, segmented content, (e.g. television episodes with ad pods in the middle) each segment of the content is counted as a distinct video stream. Source: comScore. Click on graphic for enlarged image. America’s …

My thoughts: If this doesn’t make it clear that online video is not just a fad, I don’t know what will.

But there are others out there like Roku and Boxee, both are considered OTT or Over the Top boxes (as is Apple TV) that allow for wide bandwidth video streaming over the top of your normal internet data. AT&T’s U-verse is …

My thoughts: A nice blog post looking at the evolution of how TV has been delivered (from over the air (OTA), to cable, to broadband, to OTT). The author draws the conclusion that OTT will probably one day replace OTA.